Spice Farming

The history of vanilla dates back to early sixteenth century. It.was Bernal Diaz, an Officer under Hernando Cortez, the Spanish conqueror of Mexico, who is believed to be the first European to recognize the flavour and immense value of vanilla, when the Aztec ruler, Montezuma offered him the vanilla flavoured cocoa beverage. Vanilla flavour was first introduced to France and England during the early part of the seventeenth century. The cultivation of vanilla started in Mauritius in 1827 and in Madagascar in the year 1848. Even though. vanilla originated in Mexico, now the major producing countries are Madagascar and Indonesia. Vanilla is the second most expensive spice traded in the world market.

Vanillin is mainly responsible for the fragrance, flavour and aroma of vanilla essence. It is used in the preparation of ice creams, chocolates, cakes, pastries, puddings, soft drinks, pharmaceuticals, liquors, perfumery and in nutraceuticals. At present, synthetic products such as ethyl vanillin and synthetic vanillin are used for the above purpose. But such synthetic products are being rejected by discerning customers world over, and there is an increasing demand for natural vanillin.

USA, England, Germany and Canada are the m(!jor importers of vanilla beans, of which the share of USA alone is about 35 percent of the total. Current production is not sufficient to meet the demand [2003-04] and there has been dramatic increase in international vanilla prices.

Spices Board sees considerable export potential in vanilla and has taken the initiative to popularize vanilla cultivation in India. It has a programme for subsidized supply of planting material to small growers. Spices Board provides technical inputs to all growers. This book details the recommended package of practices for vanilla cultivation and the curing of vanilla beans, based on current knowledge.

The ideal time to plant vanilla in south Indian conditions is AugustSeptember months when the intensity of the south west monsoon is low. By this time the support trees should have grown well. Good quality vines from disease free plants, sufficiently grown rooted cuttings or secondary hardened tissue-cultured plantlets can be used for planting.

Stem cuttings selected for planting should be kept in shade for about a week prior to planting. Generally three - four basal leaves of the cutting are clipped away before they are put in shade. It is recommended to dip the basal tip in one percent Bordeaux mixture or Bordeaux paste or Pseudomonas paste before planting the cutting. While planting, the defoliated basal portion of the cutting is to be placed in the loose soil, near the base of the support, just below the surface, in a half loop in such a way the basal tip is above the soil surface. The top end of the cutting is to be tied to the support. Mulching the base of the support tree with partially decomposed organic matter is recommended. It takes about four to eight weeks for the cutting to take root and to show signs of initial growth.

Tissue cultured plantlets or rooted cuttings should be planted at the base of the support after removing the polythene bag carefully and without dislodging the soil around the root zone. After planting, the soil at the base of the plant may be covered with a thick mulch of easily decomposable or partially decomposed material.

If the support tree does not provide adequate shade, the same may be provided using palm fronds or such other material. Just as lack of shade is injurious to the vanilla plant too much shade and consequent lack of sunlight is also injurious to the plant. In mixed cropping with coconut and arecanut, shade regulation should take into account the shading provided by these trees.

The above prescription about proper shading from the beginning applies uniformly irrespective of the planting material used.

AFTER CARE:

a. Mulching:

Mulching at the base with easily degradable organic materials is good for conserving both moisture and soil. Mulch will add to the fertility of the soi I when it disintegrates. Dried organic matter, leaves, weeds, coconut leaves/ husks etc can be used for mulching.
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b. Manure application:

Dried organic materials, leaves, dried cow dung, vermi compost, bone meal and organic inputs such as neem cake can be applied as manure. Manuring should be done three to four times in a year.

c. Watering:

During the first two - three years after planting, regular watering is required especially during summer once in two or three days. Mist and sprinkler irrigation are more effective and good for growth of vines. Since flowering requires stress for the vines, irrigation for the mature vines of three years and more of growth should be stopped after the cessation of the northeast monsoon. Irrigation should be resumed in such cases after the initiation of flower bunches.

d. Shade management:

The thumb rule is that vanilla requires about 50 percent shade. The lopping of branches of living support is very important to regulate shade. The support trees, especially glyricidia, should be lopped in May and November to initiate growth of new side branches for trailingof vines. Flowering and quality of beans are highly influenced by the degrees of shade to which the vines are exposed. Studies reveal that vanilla vines need a little more exposure to sunlight than shade during flowering season and at the time of beans maturing. But at the same time over exposure to direct sunlight causes yellowing of vines and leaves. Similarly in heavily shaded plots the stems are found thin, leaves small and flowering delayed. So judicious shade management is very important for the growth andiimely flowering and fruit set.

e. Trailing of vines: Trailing of vines is an important cultural operation. The growth of plants should be limited up to about 150 cm height. This is mainly to facilitate easy manual pollination. The vines are normally grown coiled around the lower branches of support trees and allowed to hang down or allowed to grow on the horizontal supports. The vines are trailed by coiling them around the branches of the support trees or on horizontal supports without letting them to touch the ground.

Vanilla thrives well in warm and moist climatic conditions with well distributed annual rain fall of 150- 300 cm and a temperature with range of 25- 32° C. Land with gentle slope, light porous soil and good drainage is preferred. Forest soil ricb in humus is ideal. The crop requires a dry spell for uniform flowering but very high temperature, strong wind and dry weather are not good for vanilla. It grows well up to 3000 feet above MSL.

Vanilla garden is established by planting either one metre long vine cuttings or rooted cuttings raised in polybag or tissue culture plantlets secondary hardened to attain at least 30 cm height. If shorter cuttings/plantlets are used ,the juvenile phase would be longer. Care should be taken to use cuttings collected either from nurseries or juvenile unflowered portion of vine from a garden as yielded/over matured part of vanilla vine may not sprout properly. The ideal time for planting vanilla is when the weather is neither too rainy nor too dry. Planting is usually done during August - September , mostly the period between South West and North East monsoon.

Vanilla is highly amenable to organic cultivation .Decomposed organic matter, bonemeal, rotten cow dung, compost, fermented cakes etc. can be used as manure for vanilla atleast twice in a year i.e.,during June-July and September –October. Adequate irrigation is to be provided for better vegetative growth of the plant during the initial two years of of establishment. From the third year onwards ,irrigation is to be provided immediately after the period of blooming.

The support trees may be pruned to form an umbrella shaped appearance about 1.5 m–2 m above the ground. This is to give better shade and protection to the growing vines. The vines are allowed to grow upto a height of 1.2 –1.5 m. Then they are trained horizontally on the branches and coiled round the standard. Bending of vines in this manner helps in accumulation of carbohydrate and other flower forming materials beyond the bend and to induce flower production at this portion of the vine.

Vanilla plants are, in general, free from any major pests and diseases incidence. Among insect pests, a few small Lamellicorn beetles and ash gray weevil bite holes in the flowers and often destroys the column. In addition, caterpillars, earwigs, snails and slugs lives on tender parts of the plant such as shoot, flower buds, immature beans etc. Grasshoppers and crab are also found to cut growing tip of plants during the establishment stage of the plantation. Regular surveillance and removal of pests can reduce their damage to a great extent.

Root rot, shoot tip rot, stem and bean rot as well as immature bean dropping are the fungal diseases noticed. Phytosanitation measures are to be adopted in the plantation for controlling the diseases. Application of organic manure in excess and heavy mulching in plant base are to be avoided. Fungicides such as 1 % Bordeaux Mixture and 0.2% Copper Oxychloride may be applied as prophylactic measure. Application of pseudomonas @10-15 gms. per litre of water will also control spread of disease.

 

Conditions such as poor nutrient availability, excessive shade or the lack of it, damage to roots and stems, over crowding of vines, excessive use of manures, excessive moisture, water stagnation and poor drainage very often lead to pest and disease problems.

DISEASE MANAGEMENT

The major fungal diseases reported in vanilla are root rot, stem rot, stem blight, fruit rot, shedding of beans and shoot tip rot. Pathogenic fungi like Phytophthora, Fusarium and Sclerotium mainly cause these diseases. These are found in the soil and atmosphere and multiply and become very active during favourable atmospheric conditions.
Fusarium attack is mainly observed during August-September when there is high humidity in the atmosphere. Phytophthora attack is found during heavy rainy season ie June- July.
To prevent the chances of multiplication of these fungi and spread of these diseases, the following should be adhered to.

+ Avoid excessive use of manure, mulch and irrigation
+ Cut and remove disease affected plant parts and burn them.
+ Do not use planting materials procured from infected gardens.
+ Avoid close planting of vines and over crowding. Follow the
recommended spacing.
+ Viral disease affected vines should be uprooted and burnt.
+ Do not use implements, which have been used on disease-affected
plants on healthy plants without thoroughly washing and cleaning them.

BIO CONTROL IN FUNGAL DISEASE MANAGEMENT

The use of beneficial organisms such as trichoderma and pseudomonas are recommended to prevent and control the growth of the fungi. They also are reported to increase the resistance power in the vanilla plant against the injurious fungi. In addition some of them are growth promoters.

To prevent the occurrence of fungal diseases, the plants should be sprayed with one percent Bordeaux mixture. Simultaneously, 50 gram of trichoderma mixed with 2.5 kg of powdered cow dung should be deposited at the base of the plant. This should be done before the onset of the monsoon in the first week of May.

About two-weeks after the application of bordeaux mixture [third week of may] pseudomonas should be sprayed on the plant.

The spray material should be prepared either using the pseudo monas in powder form @20 gm per liter of water or 10 ml of liquid pseudomonas per liter of water.
Depending on the size of the plant, 100 to 500 ml of the preparation
should be sprayed on the paint.

Under no circumstances, both bordeaux mixture and pseudomonas should be sprayed at the same time as bordeaux mixture is injurious to pseudomonas.
Since the initial deposit of trichoderma will deplete due to rains, the application of trichoderma at the recommended dose should be repeated during September.

This should be followed by another round of pseudomonas spray. It will be beneficial if the application of both trichoderma and pseudomonas is repeated in November after the cessation of rains.

The above recommendations relate to organic methods of prevention of fungal diseases. There are also some chemical fungicides available in the market. However both chemical fungicides and beneficial organisms should not be used simultaneously at short intervals.

If the fungal diseases are not brought under control even after following the above cultural and management practices the following measures may be adopted in disease control.

OTHER RECOMMENDED PRACTICES FOR FUNGAL DISEASE CONTROL FUNGAL DISEASES AND THEIR MANAGEMENT

IMPORTANT POINTS TO BE REMEMBERED IN DISEASE MANAGEMENT + Never apply bordeaux mixture or other fungicides and bio control agents simultaneously or within fifteen days of the application of one or the other. + Phytosanitation is essential for the effective functioning of fungal bio-control agents and other beneficial microorganisms. + Disease affected plants should be destroyed immediately. + Do not take planting materials from disease affected plants. IMPORTANT PROPHYLACTIC MEASURES: + Timely shade management + Avoid excess moisture + Allow free movement of air + Avoid overcrowding of vines by keeping adequate spacing + Avoid excessive mulching during rainy season and mulching with materials that are not easily decomposed + Avoid excessive manuring and use of fresh cow dung. + Apply recommended doses of bio agents like trichoderma, pseudomonas, bacillus etc. + Collect and destroy the parts of plants showing disease symptoms.

VIRAL DISEASES

PESTS AFFECTING VANILLA

Normally vanilla flowers during the third year of planting. The flowering period varies from December to April depending on the altitude. The following practices may induce more flowering in vines that have reached sufficient growth. + Stop watering the mature plants ready for flowering after North East monsoon. + Clip off the shoot tip + Lopping of shade to let in sunlight.

Flower bunches are produced in the axils of leaves. Normally it takes 45 to 60 days from flower initiation to opening of flower. Only one or two flowers open in a day. Due to the peculiar structure of the flower natural pollination is not possible. Flowers are large, pale greenish yellow and bisexual. Sepals and petals look alike. The lower petal is short, broad and modified in to a ' labellum'. The lower part of the labellum envelops a central structure called 'column' which is formed by the fusion of pistil and stamen. The tip of the column bears a single stamen with pollinia separated from the stigma by a cap like structure called I rostellum' which prevents natural pollination. Pollination has to be done on the same day of the opening of the flower, preferably between 6 am- 11 am. It is a very simple process once we understand the technique. Pollination is carried out by hand with the help of a pointed bamboo splinter or a tooth pick. The flower is held in the left hand facing us and the thumb is let free. The rostellum of the flower is lifted up using the bamboo splinter held on the right hand to open the stigma and with the help of the left hand thumb the pollinia is pressed on to the stigma so that pollen grains fall on it. Now the pollination process is over.

If the pollination process is not successful the flower will fall off the next day. For commercial production pollinate only 10 to 12 flowers in a bunch to get quality beans. Be careful not to damage the parts which develop in to the beans while carrying out pollination. It is found that one man can pollinate on an average 1500 flowers a day.

Harvesting

When the beans are fully mature they develop yellow colour at the lower end. This is the right time for harvesting., Beans harvested too early will not develop full aroma and sufficient vanillin content during curing which affect quality of the produce. Over matured beans will turn fully yellow and would split at the time of curing, affecting the quality of the processed beans. Hence farmers should harvest only mature beans for selling or curing. Beans should not be harvested in bunches under any circumstance. Beans are tb be harvested on the same day of yellowing of the distal end or within two days after this change in colour is noticed.

Need for curing

Presence of vanillin gives aroma to the cured vanilla beans, whereas it is not present in the free form in fresh beans. Fresh beans subjected to proper curing will develop vanillin as well as secondary aromatic compounds and other contents responsible for its flavour. Beans are to be cured by the right method for the proper development of aroma and flavour in desired quantities.

Instruments/accessories needed for curing Cylindrical cane basket Vessel for boiling water (of required size for immersing the cane basket) Thermometer Dark brown woolen or cotton clothe Wooden boxes (of required size) Wooden racks Hygro meter (to measure humidity) Butter paper or cellophane paper or polypropylene bags Black cotton thread

Processing (Bourbon method)

Though different methods of processing of vanilla beans are followed, demand in the international market is for beans which are processed by bourbon method. This method consists of four stages.
(1) Killing
(2) Sweating
(3) Slow drying
(4) Conditioning

Killing

+ Killing is to be done within 4-5 days after harvesting.

+ Sort the beans according to their maturity and size, and then wipe them using a wet clothe for cleaning. Separate the splits.

+ Load the sorted beans in cane baskets.

+ Dip and lift the basket containing beans twice repeatedly into clean hot water of 65-70°C and keep it immersed continuously for three minutes maintaining the same temperature of the water.

+ Longer beans may be dipped for three minutes and smaller beans/ splits for less than two minutes.

+ When the beans are dipped in hot water, there will be a sudden drop in temperature. To maintain the temperature, heating of water should be continued.

+ After taking out the beans rapidly drain the water off and wipe away the water on the beans using a clean cloth.

Sweating

+ Wrap the beans subjected to killing in woolen cloth while still hot and place them in wooden boxes lined with wollen cloth for 24 hours. If cotton cloth is used instead of wollen cloth, lining with three-four layers of cloth may be provided in the wooden box.

+ Properly killed beans acquire dark brown colour in 24 hours and will not break when bent slightly.

+ Beans which are not properly killed may be separated and subjected to killing once again for around one minute.

+ Expose properly killed beans to sunlight for two-three hours by spreading them on a wollen cloth placed on a raised platform of 70 cm. height above the ground.

+ In places where day temperature is high, providing a layer of agro shade net above the beans spread out on the platform will help in preventing excessive build up of heat in the beans. But this is not required in high ranges as day temperature is low.

+ After two-three hours of exposure to the sun, gather the beans in the centre of the blanket fold the blanket over and leave it on the flatform for one hour more.

+ After one hour transfer the beans without removing the blanklet to an air tight wooden box.

+ This process is to be repeated until the beans attains 50 percent of the initial weight (8-10 days).

+ At the end of sweating period, the weight of beans will be half of the initial weight and become supple.

+ Sweating should be done in hygienic conditions.

Slow Drying

+ On completion of sweating, spread the beans on wooden racks arranged in drying room. The beans should be kept apart from each other.

+ In order to maintain the relative humidity inside the room at 70 percent, hang moistened clothes on walls or keep water in open trays in the room.

+ Turn the beans over regularly to ensure uniform drying.

+ Slow drying may be continued until the weight of the beans is reduced to l//d of the initial weight. This process requires 20-25 days.

+ By this time beans become more pliable and can be twisted on fingers.

Conditioning

+ Slow dried beans are sorted according to their length and quality and made into bundles of 50 or 100 beans and tied at both ends using black thread.

+ These bundles are wrapped in butter paper or cellophane paper or packed in polypropylene bags.

+ These wrapped or packed bundles are kept in air tight wooden boxes for two-three months.

+ By this time, vanillin and aroma will be properly and fully developed and crystals can be seen on the beans.
+ Average vanillin content of beans which are harvested at the right time and subjected to proper curing will be 2.5 percent.

Storage

Four or five bundles wrapped in butter paper may be packed in polypropylene bags and sealed. These bags may be stored in airtight wooden boxes. Aluminium/thermocol boxes also can be used. When thermocol boxes are used, it should be sealed properly using tapes. These boxes can be stacked in rooms. Excess heat and relative humidity are to be avoided.

Bundles of beans should be checked for fungal infection once in 15 days. Beans are prone to fungal infection where rainfall is too high. Properly harvested and processed beans can be kept in storage for four-five years without any damage. However proper storage conditions should be maintained.

Quality requirements of processed beans

+ Top quality beans are long, fleshy, supple, very dark brown to black in colour, somewhat oily in appearance, strongly aromatic and free from scars and blemishes.

+ Low quality beans are usually hard, dry, thin, brown or reddish brown in colour and possess a poor aroma.

+ The moisture content of top grade beans is as high as (30 percent) where as it may be as I ittle as 10 percent in the lower grades.

During the tenth plan period, the Spices Board proposes to support expansion of vanilla cultivation in 5000 hectares through marginal and small growers. An additional area of 10000 hectares will be covered in the private sector during the period. When the entire cropped area becomes yielding, it is expected that India will become the most important source for quality vanilla in the world. This is expected to add to the spice export revenues in a significant way, even at prices, considerably lower than at present. It is also expected that lower prices will boost substitution of synthetic vanillin by natural vanillin and increase demand. The main bottleneck in developing vanilla cultivation is the nonavailability of sufficient planting materials and the resultant high price thereof. To overcome this problem, the Board is implementing a programme for production of tissue cultured plantlets and rooted cuttings which are supplied at subsidized rates to interested and needy small farmers. With a view to encourage healthy competition among vanilla growers, to improve both productivity and quality, Spices Board has instituted Vanilla Productivity Awards. Every year one first prize (Rs.25,OOO/- ,a citation and certificate) and two second prizes (Rs.15,OOO/-, a citation and certificate) are given to the winners. Qualified technical officers of the Development wing of the Board functioning in different spice growing areas will give necessary technical guidance to the farmers on various aspects of vanilla cultivation such as nursery maintenance, planting, aftercare, pollination, harvesting, processing, grading and marketing. Spices Board is promoting production of organically produced vanilla as an intercrop. Board also imparts regular training to farmers and master trainers of State Agricultural departments and NGO's, coveri ng all aspects of van ilia cu Itivation, processi ng and marketing. The recent publication of Spices Board viz: Vanilla Status Paper2003, Vanilla- The Prince of Spices and the Vanilla special editions of Spice India magazine in different languages are valuable literatures on vanilla and detail all that is current knowledge about the subject. CAUTION: The unusually high price (2003-04) is due to the adverse climatic conditions experienced in the main producing countries or quality problems in some other. The ban on the use of synthetic vanillin in certain food preparations by some developed countries have also pushed up prices in the present days of scarcity of natural vanillin. The present high price is not sustainable as the global production is increasing every year. As production increase, the price is likely to come down which will help in the substitution of synthetic vanillin by natural vanillin. This will also contribute to increased demand and use of natural vanillin. It is the considered opinion of spices board that even if the price is reduced to one tenth of the 2003/04 levels, the cultivation of vanilla, particularly as an intercrop, will continue to be profitable.